


It's Keith Now

by okay_klepto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coming Out, Don't worry, Family Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Love, Sort Of, Trans Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 11:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16555322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okay_klepto/pseuds/okay_klepto
Summary: A lot has changed in the almost 20 years Keith has been alive, including finally having a mother in his life.  Now he just has to explain to her that she has a son now.





	It's Keith Now

**Author's Note:**

> So... I don't really know what the best way to put this is. In this, Keith is a trans dude (duh), but he is repeatedly referred to as a girl/daughter during his conversation with Krolia. If that's something that may bother you, I'd suggest reading with caution. But I promise, there's a good ending.

   “What are you talking about?  ‘Keith?’  What kind of name is that!?”

   “Please, Mom, I-”

   “You should be honored to have the name 'Yurak!'”  Krolia crossed her arms over her chest.  “She was a fierce and honorable war hero!  She’s a great part of your Galran heritage!”

   “It's not about that, Mom!”  Keith defended, the anger so obviously growing inside of his mother catching him off guard.

   “Then what is this about?”  Krolia spat back.

   “It’s about…” Keith’s fret made him ball his fists.  “It's just- It’s Keith now!  I’m a boy!”

   “You're not making any sense!”  Krolia furrowed her brow.  “I carried a girl for 8 months.  You were born a girl.  You’re not a boy, you’re a-”

   “Yes, I am!”  Keith’s sudden burst of anger made Krolia real back in shock.  “I am a boy!”

   “But you were-”

   “No!”  Keith shot.  “I’ve always been a boy!”

   “You were born a girl!”

   “But…”  Keith’s mind went back to all of the thinking he had done, all of the questions he had asked, all the searching he had done.  “That’s different.”

   “How is it different?”  Krolia questioned.  “I was born a girl and I’m still a girl.  Your father was born a boy and he was still a boy.”

   “Because…”  Keith wrung his hands again.  “I’m trans.”

   “You’re what?”

   “I’m trans.  Transgender.”

   Krolia’s confusion stayed firmly on her face.

   “Y’know?”  Keith began.  “You were born, like, one gender, but you feel like the other.”

   “How do you 'feel' like a boy?  You either are a boy or you’re not.”

   “But I am!  Being born something and feeling like, or being something, is different!  And… I’m a boy and my name is Keith.”

   Krolia stared at the child in front of her, her child, hands holding tightly to elbows, eyes glued to the floor, worried pout not faltering.  She remembered bearing a daughter that day in October, holding a tiny life in her arms and proudly giving her a name that meant strength, valor, and resilience.  She remembered saying goodbye to a daughter and father, hoping one day to return to her baby girl.  And now here her daughter was, standing before as a son.

   “We have…”  Krolia breathed a heavy breath as she gathered her thoughts.  “We don’t have ‘transgender.’  It’s just… It’s not a Galran thing.”

   Keith said nothing.  He just stared at the ground.

   “You’re either a boy or a girl, and that doesn’t matter much,” Krolia continued.  “I guess our… what did you call them?  Gendered calls?  Jobs?  Positions?  Findings?”

   “Roles,” Keith corrected flatly.  "Or identity."

   “Yeah, they’re not super present like they are here.  Boy, girl: no one really gives any sort of thought to it unless you’re trying to have a baby.  It doesn’t have much meaning.”

   Keith remained quiet, his mother’s words making him think.  It must be nice not having to worry about gender or, from what it sounded like, sexuality.

   “Come here.”  Krolia held her hands out and motioned for Keith to come toward’s here.  He hesitated.  “I won’t bite you.”

   Keith slowly walked to his mother, arms still crossed, and stepped into her chest, resting his head on her shoulder.

   “I guess I should have expected something to change,” Krolia chuckled as she put her arms around Keith.  “I was gone for almost all of your life.”

   Keith continued to stare off into space, knowing his mother’s words were true.  Things did change - a lot of things.

   “And, yeah, I don’t get it.  I don’t see why being a boy is important or being called another name is important, but” -Krolia sighed as she squeezed Keith harder- “you’re always going to be my child - daughter, son, or whatever.  And I promised myself I’d never leave you behind again, so I’m not going to leave you now.”

   Keith slowly put his arms around Krolia to hug her back.

   “I love you, Keith.  I always have, and I always will.”

   “I love you too, Mom.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea rolling around in my head for a long time, and I didn't realize I actually had the majority of it written until I was going through my WIPs. I hope I did an alright job writing this! Idk what made me think of this... something about wanted to explore the Garlan views on gender maybe. idk fam
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this fic! Don’t forget to check out my [other works](https://archiveofourown.com/users/okay_klepto) as well. As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated, and please consider making a small [Ko-fi donation](https://ko-fi.com/okayklepto) if you enjoy my writing!


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